A MONTHLY METER OF INDUSTRY TRENDS

COMPARING THE INDEXES

Although the S&P 500 has experienced greater highs, it has also fallen to lower lows over the past 15 years. Real estate investments, on the other hand, have provided steady returns. The NAREIT Price Index, for example, has averaged a 10.08% return over 15 years, a hair less than the S&P 500's 15-year return of 10.86%.

Insight from: demographics

FORTUNE 500 MAGNETS

The number of Fortune 500 companies is a strong indicator of a city's long-term vibrancy. New York tops the list with 40 Fortune 500 headquarters as of 2001. The chart below ranks the top 10 cities with the most Fortune 500 headquarters in 2001 vs. 1991.

NEIGHBORHOOD GIANTS

It's no secret that Simon Property Group is the largest mall REIT in the U.S. with a market cap of $6.6 billion. But in the neighborhood shopping center category, Kimco Realty Corp. is the king of the hill with a market cap of about $3.25 billion. The combined equity market cap of the 26 REITs tracked in the neighborhood shopping center niche is $18.36 billion, of which Kimco comprises 17.7%.

Top Five Shopping Center REITs (Ranked by equity market cap as of Sept. 30, 2002)